Luann by Greg Evans and Karen Evans for October 13, 2023

Peaceful? But very rude to Ox.

She couldn’t be more rude

Invites Ox to join her, then completely ignores him and plays with her phone

Why is it strictly Luann’s responsibility to move the conversation along? Because she’s “the girl”? If Ox had been trying, she would have responded. Neither of them has anything to say to the other.

HAWKEYE: This might be better than sex!

CHARLES: Certainly takes longer around here.

B.J.: How would you know?

Ox is a centered person; he is comfortable in who he is. A bit of a struggle for you though not to talk for 18 minutes it appears you actually enjoyed it though.

No comment! 8^ )

I feel bad for OX

Five guys and six days, someone had to get two days but I thought it would be Gunther starting to whine abour his runanway girlfriend, not Ox. Also, while the authors are trying to emphasize that Ox isn’t much for small talk, that they have sat there for 18 minutes saying nothing is quite rude. Luann isn’t even trying to make conversation. She could have ended this embarrassing silence long before this.

Confirmed, Luann is the evil protagonist of this strip.

hmm nobody else got two days. Does that mean anything? I think there are two ways this could go: 1. An actual conversation happens with Ox on Sat and next week is all Gunther. or 2. Gunther shows up on Saturday and a new arc starts on Monday. I expect it to be closer to the second one

How is it rude of OX when it’s Luann on her cell phone.

Old friends and old couples can sit in companionable silence. This is just downright painful!

Neither day with Ox have we seen Bernice in th background

Poor sweet Ox. He so wants to be liked, she could have said something, anything.

They need to find him someone.

Doesn’t excuse the rudeness by Luann!

Gunther might appear next week?

18 minutes from Oxford or is Luann claiming the time from Leslie Knox’s absence? Maybe Ox should ask Luann for a date?

My thought about Oxford: “Still waters run deep.”. The guy probably has a lot more to offer than everyone realizes. We have seen bits and pieces over the years such as his chats with Kip reveal that he was one of the best O-lineman which Kip ever played against and he gave some thoughtful reasons why he voted when Delta was rebuking Luann for not bothering to vote right before she departed the strip and also how he stuck up for Gunnie when Les was bullying the young lad back in the day but overall he is an enigma though he comes across as kind, considerate and gentle. I suspect under the surface you might actually find a scholar and a gentleman. Too bad the ladies, such as Tiff, do not give the dude the time of day. OTOH, I think Luann gets a pass here after having to deal with Les right before this so she probably did need some quiet time. In addition, everyone knows Gunther and his relationship issues are on deck and Luann will need her “A” game to handle whatever he cares to divulge and also Bernice if she tries to commandeer the situation.

Ox needs someone to appreciate him. Or, I need him to be appreciated.

Maybe if you could put the dang phone down for more than one panel when in company … Some people make smartphones seem like a dumb idea, but it’s just the dumb people who own them.

All those guys, all that time, all that coffee or pop, don’t you think it’s about time for Luann to head for the women’s room?

Well, Ox, you haven’t said anything either until now, and you still haven’t shown interest in Luann. Conversations go both ways. Okay, let’s break the ice. What is your favorite animal? Do you have any pets?

Betcha this arc ends with all the boys ganging up on Luann and Bernice.

Hard to imagine that Bernice is going to come up with anythiing of value from these meetings.

18 minute gap in conversation… are we channeling Watergate???

That was quite a line-up and now we’ve got Gunther “batting clean up.” If Abner Doubleday really had anything to do with baseball, Gunther would have made him invent ping pong. -

Good Grief.

Instead of trying to jumpstart the conversation herself, Lu whips out her phone.The ULTIMATE brush off.

I would have expected that from ANY gal other than Luann who now seems to have reverted to her junior high school self.

Ox gets “Chumped” once again, and for a second straight day, poor guy.

Lu would have been kinder to him if she had just screamed ”NEXT!” yesterday. :-(

Well, Ox, I presume you don’t find it easy to start a conversation? You were waiting for Luann to be the first to start? Another reason why Tiff is perfect for you. She is a chatterbox and doesn’t mind when someone doesn’t talk back.

LuAnn should have directed her snarky remark at Bernice.

Subject Luann: Cold fish again and rude.

While Ox and Luann are having this long, peaceful “conversation”, Bernice is writing pages and pages to describe the deep, mute dialogue that their bodily mimicry expresses. She’s now sure that her search was right. She have found the answer to all her questions! The data collected with the other subjects is almost useless now.Let’s see if the conversation with Gunther will be an unexpected explosion of sadness, where he will talk about how much he miss Bets and Luann will try to make him feel better. Maybe with the help of Les, Nil, Ox and Jack. And, of course, with Tiffany’s help too.

Someone somewhere is looking at this comic for the first time ever thinking. “WTF is this supposed to be about?”

disrespectful

Remind me again of what it is that’s entertaining about this arc?

Well, if Gunther is still due to appear, this arc will surely carry in to next week.

Bernice the should do ti with Tiffany instead

Now I hear Silence Is Golden by The Four Seasons.

Ox can easily be talked to, should Luann wish to, I don’t know, start up the conversation. She is, afterall, the host. It’s her duty to start the conversation. I guess she needs to work on that.

sometimes words aren’t needed to have a good time. :J

What? Luann is doing something self absorbed? that’s exactly like her. I knew this is how it would go when it came to OX.

GaWORSH! Luann has transmogrified into Tiffany!!!

Like I said, Ox is the strong silent type. He’s not one for conversation.

It never fails to amaze me when Luann shows how shallow she can be and ends up looking even worse than modern-day Tiffany. You’d think she’d at least be amicable to a guy like Ox who hasn’t got a bad side at all and treats everyone with kindness. Guess the girl she feels like she deserves a Hemsworth.

For a man to have friends, he must be friendly. For a man to have a conversation, he must make it.

:-p

I get it that Luann doesn’t really know Ox all that well, but she’s not even making the slightest effort. And why would he be so hard to talk to? He’s a nice, sweet guy. Surely she could think of something to make small talk. How’s he been since high school? How does he like working at KK? Did he do anything fun over the summer?

People that do not wear watches – must keep their phones out to see how many more minutes they have left for the ‘coffee meet up’.

“Whut we have heah is a failyuh to communicate..”

Especially after Les, the legend in his own mind.

I get it that G&K seem to be trying to use the Luann character more, but they seem to be challenged with what to do with her. They had her sitting in Tiffany’s room spying on Kip and listening to Tiffany whine for a week, letting Tara make her look foolish on campus to get rid of hiccups, making stupid jokes to impress Piro and now a whole week of sitting (or standing) in a chair interviewing boys for Bernice. They seem to be clutching at straws for the Luann character. They should follow their readers suggestions – give her a boyfriend and a successful direction in life/school, or go back to using their more interesting characters.

A Perfect Existential WWA❤️ED Moment for Sexy❤️Luann. While Ox has been sitting there like a lump of ox fop (note: previous comparison deleted for probable political repercussions… yr welcome :) Our Hero Sexy❤️Luann has been using her brand spanking ;) gnu Titanium iPhone 15 Pro to hack and drain his bank account. How ‘bout those Apples, Mac? Actually, a WWA❤️ED Moment… when Dearest Sexy❤️ Luann saw how pitifully little was in there, Sexy❤️Luann took pity, hacked Pedro’s trust fund account, and transferred five-figures-thou to Ox’s account with a hint that he take Bernice to…. THE TAYLOR❤️SWIFT ‘THE ERAS TOUR’ MOVIE (100% on Rotten Tomatoes). Whoa, Dude… Does The Count Want to Party with YOU! Taylor❤️Swift, of course. BTW, since you asked… NO Dearest Ann❤️Eiffel Happy Endings with that lowest of lowly unworthiest of unworthies slack jawed yokel football poser. Taylor❤️Swift is, of course, draining HIS bank … although its mother does make darn fine batch of chocolate chip cookies, boy howdy. SO, on that cheery note… you know how sentimental The ❤️ Count is… Outta Here!. Let’s Be Careful Out There, lowly unworthies… it IS, after all, Friday the 13th. TTFN and Pray for Israel. (no kidding). Count… OUT!

P.S. Sexy❤️Luann also DID transfer the remainder of Pedro’s trust fund in to her account. The Count means… let’s get real, seriously… WWA❤️ED, after all >;)

Silence is golden.

So apparently she checked the time. 18 minutes later he says something and she responds, duly noting the time that has elapsed positively, but all the luddites have the vapors.

Luann has no obligation to sit there and be bored for 20 just because Ox has no social skills. We know Luann can talk to anyone, so she is not the problem. I would have pulled out my phone after 2 minutes of boredom. Some women need intellectual stimulation and Ox will never be able to provide that.

To me, this seems out of character for Luann. She would start a conversation with Ox, even if it was just small talk.

Ox, conversation works both ways. Have you asked Luann any questions, made any attempt to talk?

it’s relaxing

Easy to talk to, just little to say.

Luann is obviously messing with Bern’s data.

Ox is easy going so people take advantage. I know from experience. By the time he’s my age he will have lost patience and walk away from the ones who take over the conversation, dismissing his words or talking over him.

Oooh! She looked at her phone after 18 minutes. She’s so rude! (Rolls eyes)

18 minutes of nothing but silence? I need a woman like that.

For me, as an old school codger…. the playing with the phone that Luann is doing…. reads as quite rude.

I KNOW this is how most people operate these days….. anytime they have even a millisecond that is unstructured, they immediately cyborg with their d*mn phone. But…. to me it feels dismissive and rude.

I truly feel that the extreme dependency that a whole helluva lot of folks have with their phones has in a large way resulted in the less pleasant societal changes (civility and others) we grapple with now.

And please do not think I am a Luddite….. I have and use a smart phone. But…. I do NOT fidget with it in the company of others.

Both of them look so awkward. But when someone like Ox, is naturally shy, it’s up to the more social one, in this case, Luann, to get the ball rolling. At the very least ask him about football—-how’s his favorite team doing, etc. etc. She’s not even trying—-just staring at her phone and acting bored. I’m usually in her corner but this is disappointing.

My husband says I could talk to a rock… and have it answering me!

Everyone loves Ox!

Next week, 3 football players drag Gunther in kicking and screaming “Lemme Go,I’ve Changed My Mind!”

Seriously,he’ll end up pouring out his frustrations to his “old pal Luann”,and she won’t be able to get a word in edgewise

Suppose that tomorrow Ox were to say something to Luann about how awkward he feels about starting conversations with Ti…, er, with gir…, er, with women. I wonder how she would react. I’m not predicting that we’ll ever find out, just idly speculating (and recalling that Luann did a pretty good job of helping Fay Garcia overcome her shyness).

You people act like Luann has been looking at her phone since Ox sat down with her.

THAT. IS. NOT. TRUE!!!!

She looked at it twice, briefly, probably checking the time. If Ox has pulled out his phone, would everyone be jumping on him?? I doubt it.

No, everyone would have defended Ox, claiming he was just checking the time, or something like that.

Most people still talk, even when they have nothing to say. Ox knows when not to speak.

I fail to see why all the responsibility lies with Luann. She is not the “host.” She did not arrange the meetings. She was not given an agenda or told to make conversation. Obviously Ox did not feel a need to make conversation either, but that only makes him the “strong, silent type.” Not rude like some people feel that the same behavior makes LuAnn. Sure sounds like a double standard to me. If I had to spend a day drinking coffee with person after person and no idea why, I would probably check the time occasionally as well. After all, maybe she has to be somewhere. All the Luann critics complained about her not jumping right on her writing assignment, after all.

Well, Luann has been sitting there for hours (was it an hour per guy? don’t remember), so she’s probably spent. And Ox isn’t the chatty type. But he is a comforting presence, and I think the second panel captures the general feeling of this interaction.

For my part, I cherish some of my friends that we can just sit together and enjoy each other’s company without feeling the need to plug every single moment of silence with some inane “small talk”. It really is a comfortable feeling, and feels much better than small talk (also very good when we have annoying paperwork to do, feels so much better when we just do it together! lol)

Oxford is a wonderful guy, Lulu! He’s big, strong, intelligent, but quiet and not flashy!